Advertisement
www.youtube.com/watch
It looks really doable. My only question is I thought wind generators have a gear system to take advantage of lower wind speeds, anyone know anything about that?
Thanks, Alex
It looks really doable. My only question is I thought wind generators have a gear system to take advantage of lower wind speeds, anyone know anything about that?
Thanks, Alex
posted by:
|
Connecticut
|
Advertisement
Advertisement
-
Re: anyone ever try building a windmill here?
Wed, November 11, 2009 - 3:24 PM
-
Re: anyone ever try building a windmill here?
Tue, November 17, 2009 - 4:57 AMDefine wind generator?
They are as simple as a motor (needs permanent magnet) from a toy with plastic vanes stuck up to catch the breeze. some Japanese (?) academic even proposed a wall of fans like you find in personal computers.
The devil is in what breeze/wind you want to harness.
Commercial generators have very long arms to give low wind sufficent power (think long lever) to drive the "generator" through gears so that the generator revs at a desireable frequency.
Silicon Chip, an australian hobbyist electroncs magazine, had a series of articles about building a wind generaor from a washing machine motor.
-
Re: anyone ever try building a windmill here?
Tue, November 17, 2009 - 11:40 AMYa,there's lots of stuff out there,...on trash day i watch for electronics ect. for parts.
some weed wackers/electric tools, have nice DC motors&wires/resistors and??/.
Sheet plastic from the sides of vcr boxes & save the nuts bolts screws ect,are good for modeling(to make stuff out of) plastic.
Right now i'm just looking for the small stuff for desk top size learning models,and keep some boxes for the different stuff.
For sheet metal i can get small sheets(galvanised heating duct & sheet at the local home supply store.
This stuff is to gain perspective and a small working system on the cheep,...PDF'S on circuts electronics basics
are a good idea too.
The size and design of the blades can be adapted to lower wind speeds.
Getting into gears,...bigger investment. -
-
Re: anyone ever try building a windmill here?
Fri, November 20, 2009 - 5:32 AMI have built 2 in the past, currently am constructing a version of the one featured in
this article:
www.velacreations.com/chispito.html
In many ways, it is the best design that I have seen, very doable, blades aren't that
difficult to make and the power output is in a useful range, isn't a toy, I have done bench
tests with the motor/generator and it looks very promising.
I have made a few changes to their design, don't think that the bearings are designed to
take the amount of load that the blades would impose, so am using a shaft and pillow blocks
to mount blade hub on then using in-line coupler to connect to the generator.
Also their proposed method of power transfer, a wire, seems a bit iffy to me. Mine uses slip
rings cut from 1 1/2 inch copper pipe and carbon brushes from automotive starter motor.
-
